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Eskarr
“Straight and true, The streets and buildings stood at precise jagged angles, The whitewashed adobe walls shone as starkly as the marble both uncompromisingly precise and ordered, The sands piled against the walls vainly strewing chaotic hills against the enormous deffences that towered over the riverbanks. The city shone like a beacon of will against the ravages of the desert, the vegetation inside stood in orderly cropped lines a stark contrast to the withered and decayed vegetation without, Water flowed from fountains showering glittering crystals of life into the air where it fell upon the backs of the labourers working below. The men moved in unison as if part of a greater machine, The places the perfectly chiselled and measured stones upon the ground creeping ever forward like an implacable tide of creation, None stood tall or proud, None complained nor rejoiced, An air of singular purpose and humility made the men seem as uniform and precise as the buildings they constructed” The Eskarr are a free people who joined the Chimerian empire centuries ago, They are its great builders and architects and helped to make the visions of the Pyramid cities come to life, The Eskarr are a short dusky people with strong arms and back to help them create the forms their minds perfect. Calm, Humility, Order and Productivity are the cornerstones of Eskarr culture, They are a quiet and passive people in an individual sense, Pride and ambition are seen as selfish and foolish motivations and are shunned by the people, Position is awarded by merit alone and rejoicing in your advancement is seen as morally corrupt. The Eskarr value intelligence and skill above all other traits, They have great designers and builders who share equal status in their communities, Eskarr cities are normally production hubs with many skilled craftsmen all competing to perfect their arts and make the finest piece, develop the latest technology or carve the finest detail. Although the Eskarr are a humble people they have a deceptive amount of drive, Their humility in itself can be a kind of pride and where one voice will fail to speak out a thousand will whisper until their purpose is reached. Due to their humble nature Eskarr lack much of what a normal citizen would consider modesty, They blatantly work around their cities naked without any shame, but at all times they wear their elbow length fitted gloves, The hands are incredibly important to the Eskarr and they go to great pains to protect them, Over time exposed hands have become quite a provocative sight and an Eskarr who will run about the town all day unclothed will retire to a changing rooms to switch their gloves. Eskarr cities are in a constant state of flux, No governor or architect will ever admit their work is complete and the cities are repeatedly extended and refined. The Eskarr own many working slaves but see domestic slaves as opulent, They also hire militant slaves to guard their cities as martial skills are of marginal importance to their people. Eskarr organise themselves into countless committees to organise every aspect of their lives, Their family units tend to work more like corporations and their social ties are almost entirely based on occupation. The Eskarr see the Praetorians as logical leaders of the empire as no other can stand against them and under their rule the people have gained freedom from the monstrous to thrive as they have, To an eskarr civic growth is worth the violence. Although the Eskarr society is very repressed they have the occasional social outlet, Once every two years they celebrate a festival called "Majindian Ghal", This festival was a time of worship for one of the lost gods of their ancestors who embodied the elements of Passion and Chaos, During the festival the eskarr become aggressive, debauched and destructive claiming that during this time their actions appease the god of chaos who will leave them to be productive and proper for the next two years. Men and women share equal place in eskarr society as pride in ones gender is seen as a character flaw, Due to physiology though men tend to gravitate towards the constructive arts and women towards the design and government roles, There are almost no set gender roles in their society with the partner who has the least important position being the on responsible for the children of the family. Eskarr do not have established schools but have a system of early apprenticeship, When an Eskarr youth reaches the age of ten he is taken to the Hall of Paths to find his trade, By age ten most eskarr children have already had 4 - 5 years in some form of trade schooling but it is not until they reach the Hall of Paths they are required to make a decision, Skilled masters and Journeymen attend the halls to take their apprentices when the time comes, The Master of Labour makes sure that children are not offered a trade that is in poor demand. Dress & Attire Eskarr typically wear long loose fitting robes in white and grey colours, Bright colours are usually only used in a uniform sense to easily identify the wearer or for formal occasions, Head wrappings are common to protect form the sun and all Eskarr waer elbow lengthgloves, They consider these gloves to be neccessary for modesty and consider uncovered hands socially scandalous.